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Pool Electrocution
Location: Houston, Texas Date: May 27, 1989 Story On May 27, 1989 in Houston, Texas, sixteen-year-old Scooter Green was cleaning his family's pool when his long-time friend, fourteen-year-old Robby Henderson, came by. "I was cutting through Scooter's yard to go into my house and I saw him cleaning the pool," remembers Robby. Scooter agreed to go to the movies with Robby after he finished cleaning the pool. He took the aluminum vacuum pole out of the pool and it touched a power line, sending an electric shock into his body and causing him to fall into the pool. "I thought he was faking it at first, even though I saw the electricity. He just started going under so I looked for anything that had no electric current. Then I just grabbed his hair," said Robby. Scooter's mother, Sarah Green, ran to the house to get help from her friend, Calvin. "He was wheezing and gasping for air, and his body was very rigid," said Calvin. Robby felt confused, rushed into the house, and called 911. Robby told Dispatcher D.W. Mills what had happened. "Somebody touched electrical wire with a pool pole. It's definitely an emergency. He fell down and collapsed," Robby said frantically. Mills passed the address to Jack Williams for immediate dispatch, and the Houston Fire Department immediately dispatched a fire engine to the scene. At the same time, from the centralized location twice as far away, an advanced life support ambulance was launched. While Robby was still on the phone with Mills, he could hear Sarah shouting for the ambulance to hurry. He explained to the Mills that the pole was aluminum, and that Sarah was helping Scooter. He explained that Scooter was halfway between consciousness and unconsciousness. "After Robby had gone to call 911, Scooter's breathing was getting more and more shallow. So I set up to administer the back pressure arm lift method of artificial respiration," said Calvin. Robby felt like he wanted to faint after he got off the phone and did not want to watch Sarah and Calvin do CPR on Scooter. "I just kept telling myself he was going to be okay, but I had doubts in my mind," remembers Robby. Calvin noticed that Scooter was turning blue and continued CPR. It was a very helpless feeling, knowing there was very little I could do when I wanted to do so much," said Calvin. Five minutes after the call, two EMTs arrived on the scene. They could see that Scooter was not breathing and was in cardiac arrest. EMT Doug Lewis took over his care, giving him chest compressions. "Scooter's mother was standing there and I was scared for her to see somebody doing chest compressions. It's just like hitting you with a ton of bricks saying, 'Your son is dead,'" said Lewis. Eight minutes after Scooter was electrocuted, the paramedics arrived with full life support equipment. The power line Scooter had electrocuted himself on was the main line into the subdivision. The electricity had passed down his body to the ground, stopping his heart. "The situation was extremely dangerous for Scooter. If the electricity had gone through the body, it could damage the heart, the lungs, and all the vital organs. It can literally destroy everything in there," said Lewis. "CPR is only a stop-gap measure. If his heart isn't shocked into beating again, he will die." "Seeing him lie there, not knowing if he was going to live or die was an overwhelming feeling. I just told him, 'Come on,' that he was going to make it, because he hasn't done the things that he wants to do," said Sarah. The paramedics finally got a pulse. "When you start getting the pulse, and he starts coming back, it's elation. It's an unbelievable, exciting feeling, knowing that you did your job, and it works," said an EMT. Scooter spent five days in the hospital and couldn't remember the incident. "I remember lying on my back and I could feel pain. I just wanted to go ahead and die. Everyone was sitting there telling me to hang in there," said Scooter. "The happiest moment for me was when Scooter called me the next day, and also when he came home and knocked on my door. I helped a friend out, and maybe someday if I was in trouble, a friend would help me out too," said Robby. Within a month, Sarah had convinced the power company to raise the lines above the pool another twenty feet. "My greatest joy is that he's alive, there's no heart or brain damage, and I'm so thankful that they knew what they were doing, and it worked so well that day," Sarah said excitedly. Two weeks after the incident, Scooter came by the fire station. The firefighters and paramedics were amazed to see him. "I couldn't believe that he was up and walking around. He should've been dead. He should've been six feet under," said Lewis. "It was definitely a miracle. It wasn't his time," says Calvin. Category:1989 Category:Texas Category:Electrocution